14 die in 7 days while warming themselves up by fire

At least 14 people have died after they received burns while warming themselves up by the fire to beat the bitter cold in Rangpur in last seven days.

Of the deceased, most are elderly people, said hospital sources.

Registrar of Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Rangpur Medical College Hospital Noor Alam Siddique said: "Of the deceased, three elderly people have succumbed to their burns on Sunday. All 14 people received severe burns while warming themselves up by fire to fight the ongoing cold wave.

"More than 50 others have been admitted to the hospital with severe injuries and of the injured, condition of some people is serious."

According to sources, 10 people succumbed to their burns while undergoing treatment at the hospital in between January 7 and 14.

While visiting Rangpur Medical College Hospital's Burn unit on Monday morning, it has been seen that at least 52 people, most of them women, are undergoing treatment. Of the injured, six are children.

Because of the lack of space, many patients are kept on the floor and the varanda of the unit, causing immense sufferings to the injured.

The bone-chilling cold coupled with thick fogs is forcing people to stay inside of houses since last week, hampering normal activities in the northern region.

In-charge of Rangpur Met Office Mohammad Ali said the minimum temperature 9.2 degrees celsius was recorded on Monday.

Local residents said the cold wave hampering normal activities of common people and thus presence in offices, factories as well as educational institutions is thin today.

The extreme weather has also aggravated sufferings of the people living in char areas of Brahmaputra basin, they added.

Physicians at different hospitals and upazila health complexes said people especially children and old-aged citizens have been coming to them with cold-related diseases including cough, fever, and asthma for the last couple of days.

The district administrations, NGOs, voluntary, professional, socio-cultural and charitable organisations, business bodies, banks and other institutions have intensified distribution of warm clothes among the cold-stricken people to mitigate their sufferings.